And now for something completely offensive to me...
Saturday, November 26th, 2005 06:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lizziecI meant to post about this last night but I went to lie down at 8pm and only just woke up. Oops ;)
I spent a lot of time in the car yesterday listening to the radio*, about 3 hours to be exact, and I got increacingly irate at the way the "final hours of George Best" and the "death of George Best" (or as the BBC put it "Fans pay tribute to legend Best") were played out by the media.
I don't think this man's death should be seen as anything special. He was an alcoholic and apparently also abused his ex-wife. He lived a life of excess, paid the consequences for it, though got another chance with a liver transplant that he then wasted.
A liver transplant that could have saved someone else. Perhaps a young person. Perhaps a young mother or father with children, people who wouldn't have wasted that liver.
Grr.
Who did this man think he was? He may have been a great footballer (dunno, he was well before my time), but to me he appeared a selfish old man who assumed that the rules didn't apply to him. His death should not be greatly mourned by anyone but his family. This is even worse than the fuss over Diana (who was not a saint, I don't care how many of you like to imagine she was, grr), who at least acted as a stronger role model than Best.
What really frustrates me are all the comments on the BBC's "Have Your Say" thread about the passing of "the legendary footballer".
So many of them run like this:
"Northern Ireland's finest son. George Best was the BEST!"
"George was simply the best!! He will be remembered as a lovely man who could play a mighty fine game of football. God go with you George xxx"
and
"George has gone and will be emensily missed he is a real legend and no one will be to the same standard as him. I will miss him and i'm sure everyone else will as well!! :-("
Grr. There are times I dispair of the majority of this country >.<
I at least take some solace in the fact that all the comments that have been "reader reccommended" are along the lines of:
"A genius on the football pitch? Yes. Someone who deserves to rest in peace? Yes. Someone who deserves to be reverred? Not necessarily. This man had the chance to change his life with his liver transplant, and yet could not overcome his addiction. He should be a warning to everyone."
"To anyone under the age of 35, he was better known as an alcoholic than as a footballer. The news coverage has been totally out of proportion to his death."
"I am sad at the loss of a life, but I can't believe the hype surrounding George Best's death. There have been other, more worthy people, whose demise has gone relatively unreported and who, if given the chance of an extended life as George Best was through his transplant, would have not wasted it."
and
"Sad as anyone's passing is, I've been most disturbed by the almost way ghoulish way in which his passing has been reported in the press - the hour by hour updates, the "in his last hours" headlines. In a world where thousands of people in the mountains of Kashmir, in Niger and elsewhere are dying early and preventable deaths, lets not make the self-inflicted passing of a great footballer the top story of the day."
Although these comments are by far in the minority they have been the most reccommended. Maybe the majority of people are silent and with me on my thoughts after all.
I hope so.
*This is because I went to a prize giving evening at Phil's old school - seperate entry about that later
I spent a lot of time in the car yesterday listening to the radio*, about 3 hours to be exact, and I got increacingly irate at the way the "final hours of George Best" and the "death of George Best" (or as the BBC put it "Fans pay tribute to legend Best") were played out by the media.
I don't think this man's death should be seen as anything special. He was an alcoholic and apparently also abused his ex-wife. He lived a life of excess, paid the consequences for it, though got another chance with a liver transplant that he then wasted.
A liver transplant that could have saved someone else. Perhaps a young person. Perhaps a young mother or father with children, people who wouldn't have wasted that liver.
Grr.
Who did this man think he was? He may have been a great footballer (dunno, he was well before my time), but to me he appeared a selfish old man who assumed that the rules didn't apply to him. His death should not be greatly mourned by anyone but his family. This is even worse than the fuss over Diana (who was not a saint, I don't care how many of you like to imagine she was, grr), who at least acted as a stronger role model than Best.
What really frustrates me are all the comments on the BBC's "Have Your Say" thread about the passing of "the legendary footballer".
So many of them run like this:
"Northern Ireland's finest son. George Best was the BEST!"
"George was simply the best!! He will be remembered as a lovely man who could play a mighty fine game of football. God go with you George xxx"
and
"George has gone and will be emensily missed he is a real legend and no one will be to the same standard as him. I will miss him and i'm sure everyone else will as well!! :-("
Grr. There are times I dispair of the majority of this country >.<
I at least take some solace in the fact that all the comments that have been "reader reccommended" are along the lines of:
"A genius on the football pitch? Yes. Someone who deserves to rest in peace? Yes. Someone who deserves to be reverred? Not necessarily. This man had the chance to change his life with his liver transplant, and yet could not overcome his addiction. He should be a warning to everyone."
"To anyone under the age of 35, he was better known as an alcoholic than as a footballer. The news coverage has been totally out of proportion to his death."
"I am sad at the loss of a life, but I can't believe the hype surrounding George Best's death. There have been other, more worthy people, whose demise has gone relatively unreported and who, if given the chance of an extended life as George Best was through his transplant, would have not wasted it."
and
"Sad as anyone's passing is, I've been most disturbed by the almost way ghoulish way in which his passing has been reported in the press - the hour by hour updates, the "in his last hours" headlines. In a world where thousands of people in the mountains of Kashmir, in Niger and elsewhere are dying early and preventable deaths, lets not make the self-inflicted passing of a great footballer the top story of the day."
Although these comments are by far in the minority they have been the most reccommended. Maybe the majority of people are silent and with me on my thoughts after all.
I hope so.
*This is because I went to a prize giving evening at Phil's old school - seperate entry about that later
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no subject
Date: Sat, Nov. 26th, 2005 06:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sat, Nov. 26th, 2005 07:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sat, Nov. 26th, 2005 08:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Sat, Nov. 26th, 2005 12:08 pm (UTC)Stupid hype...